Korean actor Gong Yoo tells Taiwan fans he should have come sooner

2017/04/28 19:48:53

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) South Korean actor Gong Yoo, the star of the hit Korean film "Train to Busan," said Friday on his first visit to Taiwan that he was surprised by his popularity among Taiwanese fans and felt he should have come here earlier in his career.

Gong arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on a four-day visit and is scheduled to meet with fans at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei on Saturday in an event hosted by Mickey Huang (黃子佼), one of the most popular TV presenters in Taiwan.

The 5,500 tickets for Saturday's event were sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale on March 25, according to the organizers.

Asked about the apparent interest in the fan meeting, Gong said at a news conference Friday that he was surprised when he heard the tickets had been snapped up so quickly.

Although he was once told by a Taiwanese fan at an event in Japan that he had many Taiwanese fans, he was still somewhat skeptical, until now.

"When I heard the tickets had sold out, I came to believe what the fan told me," Gong said through an interpreter. "I feel I've waited too long to come here. I'm really sorry about that," he said.

The 37-year-old model-turned-actor made his acting debut in the Korean TV series "School 4" in 2001. His breakout role came in "The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince," a 2007 South Korean TV drama that became a hit.

After a bit of a lull in his career, Gong rose to international stardom when he starred in the 2016 horror-thriller "Train to Busan," which tells the story of a group of terrified passengers on a suspicion-filled, blood-drenched train ride during a nationwide outbreak of a mysterious virus.

Gong plays a fund manager who sacrifices his life to save his daughter and other passengers on the train.

He also starred in the Korean TV drama series "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," which became a mega hit in 2016 and was hugely popular across Asia.

Commenting on the phenomenal film and TV series, Gong said he did not expect them to be such a big success when he took on the roles and felt lucky to have gotten the parts.

He said he will work harder to be a better actor and would like to play some bad guys, which would be a new experience for him.